“I think I suck right now.”
Anthony Davis’ assessment of his play after the Los Angeles Lakers’ win in Milwaukee was one of relativity.
For most of the mortals who lace up sneakers and can bounce a leather ball, a five-game stretch averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds would be incredible. But for someone as talented as Davis, a player with limitless ability on the offensive end, those numbers aren’t good enough and aren’t indicative of what he’s capable of doing.
Want proof? Ask the Chicago Bulls.
Davis got back on track against the Bulls’ defense in his hometown, scoring a season-high 37 points during his team’s 101-90 win. The Lakers are now 9-0 on the road to start this season.
Davis’ “slump” has stretched through most of the season, the Lakers’ star cracking more than 30 points just once this season after doing it 21 times last year during the regular season.
The Lakers’ star might’ve been disappointed, but no one around him was panicking.
“I think he’s not in rhythm like he’s used to, but I think he’s still doing a lot of winning things,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said before Saturday’s game. “We’re winning games and playing at a high level and he’s been a big part of that on both sides of the ball. He’s got a high bar set for himself and he’s going to be hard on himself when he falls short of that. So that’s part of what makes him great, but I’m really not concerned about Anthony Davis.”
Davis ended the first quarter with 15 on seven-of-eight shooting and added 11 in the second, missing just one more short. Davis helped push back the Bulls’ comeback in the third quarter with a flurry of buckets, running his total to 37 before heading to the bench for the rest of the game.
LeBron James had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Montrezl Harrell added 10 off the bench and Talen Horton-Tucker, who had fallen out of Vogel’s rotation, returned to regular playing time and scored 10 as well.
